• Correlation Does Not Imply Causation

    Last week’s post about the ideal length for all kinds of different digital content sparked an offline debate about the differences between correlation and causation. Understanding the differences is crucial to many forms of analytics, and some people still get the two muddled up. In simple terms, a correlation implies a statistical relationship between two…

  • Demystifying Digital Marketing in Dubai

    Next week I’ll be in Dubai, UAE, to deliver a new training programme entitled ‘Demystifying Digital Marketing’. The open course is a two-day programme, designed to coincide with the Middle East Event Show and Mktg Live, and will feature brand new training content covering everything from search engines to email, mobile marketing to UI testing. I’ve written…

  • Why Length Matters in Online Content

    The well-worn phrase “Size Doesn’t Matter” has no place in the digital marketer’s toolbox. Size, I’m slightly saddened to report, is everything. Get it wrong and your content simply won’t get consumed. Get it right and you could give your content a precious extra lift, boosting clicks, conversions and, ultimately, sales. Kevan Lee at Buffer recently…

  • You Need To See The Hottest Words in Viral Headlines

    Knowing how to write a killer headline, subject line or tweet can make the difference between success and failure for your content marketing efforts. The simple truth is, it doesn’t matter how great your content is; if readers don’t get past the headline they’ll never know. Ripenn recently collated 2,616 headlines from four popular sites…

  • Twitter Launches Editorial Calendar Tool

    Shifting your social media marketing efforts from reactive, last minute posts to being pre-planned, proactive communications designed in advance to achieve a specific goal is an ambition that every social media marketer should aspire to. Twitter knows this and today rolled out a new service designed to help businesses and (it hopes, Twitter advertisers!) improve…

  • Wi-fi Security 101 – secure your router from outsiders

    Here’s a top Internet Safety tip: Don’t put your wi-fi router in the window with the wi-fi access code visible from the outside. Blindingly obvious perhaps, but it’s surprisingly easy to spot homes and businesses who fail this most obvious security test.

  • A new HootSuite Ambassador for EMEA

    I’m delighted to have recently been appointed a HootSuite Ambassador for EMEA. In this voluntary role I’ll continue to support adoption and use of the popular social media management system that now boasts more than 8 millions users worldwide. HootSuite has played a leading role in my social media marketing toolkit for a couple of years…

  • LinkedIn Withdraws Products and Services – what you must do now

    LinkedIn has quietly announced that the ‘Products and Services’ page available on every Company Page on the social network will no longer be supported after 14th April 2014. This popular feature is being retired to make way for ‘Showcase Pages,’ but the potential impact on existing users could be significant. Don’t panic! Here are our…

  • The Minimum Age to Use Facebook (and more)

    One of the key messages I used to teach parents at Internet Safety School was the age their children should be before they can legally use popular sites online. It’s little known  that most social networking sites require users to be at least 13 years old before they can sign up. And for e-commerce sites…

  • Data Sharing and The Generational Divide

    I wrote recently about the importance of ‘Giving then Receiving‘, reminding marketers to give something to their audience before asking for personal data. It works, and I’ve been touched by the messages I received from you sharing your experiences of testing this approach. New data from Mintel in the USA should provide further encouragement if…